Organizational Rhetoric is typically used in the fields of Communication and Mass Communication to examine the communicative strategies that animate businesses and corporate organizations. This study aims to give a more rhetorically focused definition of organizational rhetoric by emphasizing how communicative acts structure action and shape the construction of identity in settings beyond formal workplaces. Based on an analysis of the social sorority bylaws of Kappa Alpha Theta and the rhetorical situations those bylaws address, this study suggests that social sororities employ organizational rhetoric as an effective means of persuading their members to be active participants within the organization. Ultimately, the analysis argues that the rhetoric employed by social sororities mimics the typified, effective rhetorical moves of an organization to shape the agency and identities of their members.

Mental health is an important part of college students' experiences, and more administrators are paying attention to mental health issues (Cooper, 2000; Kitzrow, 2003). Self-esteem is central to mental health (Kittleson, 1989), and can be attributed to social situations, especially those that deal with rejection (Bednar, Wells, & Peterson, 1989; Caunt, 2003; Eisenberger & Lieberman, 2004; Steffenhagen & Burns, 1987). Sorority recruitment is an event that includes rejection (National Panhellenic Conference, n.d.), and may negatively affect self-esteem. The purpose of this study was to determine how recruitment affects the self-esteem of participants. First, this study sought to determine if self-esteem changes during recruitment for two groups of Potential Members (PMs): those who complete recruitment (persistent PMs) and those who withdraw (withdrawn PMs). Second, this study investigated how self-esteem differed at the start and end of recruitment between these groups. The sample included 336 potential sorority members at a large state institution. Data were collected by administering the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1979) twice: once before recruitment, and again when the PM either withdrew or completed the process. The results of the study indicate a significant change in self-esteem during recruitment. The persistent PMs experienced an increase in self-esteem; the withdrawn PMs experienced a drop in self-esteem. Also, there was a difference between the self-esteem levels of the two groups at the start of recruitment; the withdrawn PMs had a higher self-esteem than the persistent PMs. There was no difference in self-esteem at the end of the recruitment process. / Master of Arts

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Judith Hughey / Social organizations known as fraternities exist on many college campuses in the United States. Many of these organizations have a residential home either on the campus or off campus for the students known as a fraternity home. One of the values that many fraternities seek to ad-here to is found in the area of leadership (Long, 2012). Leadership has been studied for decades as has the social organizations known as fraternities. The outcomes of both of these areas of studies presented spirited and often complex discussion on how to define a) leadership and b) what is the role of the fraternity on the college campus. This qualitative study of 12 students focused on fraternity members who lived in a residential setting of a fraternity home. The purpose of this study was to understand what factors of the fraternity home experience have on one’s leadership identity and to explain how these factors can help guide college professionals in fostering in positive college student development. The researcher used two primary methods of data collection (a) focus groups and (b) in-depth individual semi-structured interviews. A case study research design was utilized to help understand the experiences that take place in the lives of the participants. The analysis of the data in this study helps explain how a college student living in a fraternity home takes on a leadership identity. Furthermore, this study pointed to six themes that emerged to help inform how a residential living setting of a fraternity home shapes the leadership identity of the students. Multiple support systems allow for students to have values tested and reinforced though a fraternity home experience. Diversity of other viewpoints are present in a fraternity and allow for students to see differing perspectives. Older fraternity brothers have a positive influence on younger members in terms of self-confidence, mentoring, and other areas. Positional leadership roles of the fraternity allow students to engage with managing conflict and interacting with adult advisors and mentors. Brotherhood events provide students the opportunity develop relationships and interpersonal skills. Formal chapter meetings allow a venue for students to engage with each other in a manner that produces improved communication skills and critical thinking. Student affairs professionals and leadership educators working with students including but not limited to Greek organizations can take the findings of the study to assist them in their work. A leadership identity is being formed through a fraternity home setting as evidence of this study. Leadership educators can use this study to help their thoughts on how college students, especially fraternity members, view and exercise leadership. This study also presented areas for future research based on the information that was gained from the participants. Colleges continue to need contemporary studies to help them in working enhance the academic and social experience. The information provided in this study can be a catalyst for helping the understanding of leadership and for student development.

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Hazing in collegiate settings, both Greek and non-Greek, damages educational institutions’ reputations and creates liability as they seek to maintain the safety of their students. This study examines hazing activities that take place during the initiation process of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). Utilizing qualitative research, it provides insight into the motivations of undergraduates who participate in BGLO hazing initiation rituals. Using National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and Pennsylvania State Law definition of hazing, this study focuses on an underexamined population generally overlooked by researchers in this field. Examining BGLO members’ familiarity with hazing prior to taking part revealed three levels of awareness: not aware, moderately aware, and very aware. Participants also indicated what kinds of dangers they were aware of, how they became aware of such dangers, and other facets of hazing they knew about prior to their participation in the activity. Members chose to join an organization where they believed hazing existed due to various factors: Confidence & Past Success, Intrapersonal Benefits, Societal Benefits, Perceptions of Hazing, Personal Relationships, Compatibility, Lack of Options, and Following Traditions. BGLO members’ willingness to undergo hazing sprang from the following factors: Long-term Benefits, Validation, The Bonds of Initiation, Personal Relationships, Acceptance, Perceptions of Hazing, Explanatory Justification. Finally, participants in this study indicated five roles that hazing plays in the initiation process of BGLO: Producing Better People, The Cycle of Re-Creation, Organizational Benefits, Validating Membership and Not Worth It. This project highlights the failure of higher educational institutions to play a key role in protecting students, specifically BGLO members, from the dangers of hazing and offers remedies for that oversight, including anti-hazing policies, hazing support services, membership intake processes, and fraternal organization advisement implications, as well as areas for future research on this topic. / Educational Leadership

La Vie grecque d’Adam et Eve (VGAE) a été classée parmi les apocryphes de l’Ancien Testament et serait un texte composé entre le Ier siècle avant notre ère et le Ier siècle de notre ère, à partir des traditions judéo-hellénistiques. Attesté par vingt-sept manuscrits grecs, cet ouvrage présente l’histoire d’Adam et Eve avant et après leur expulsion du Paradis. Ces manuscrits font partie d’un ensemble plus vaste, la Vie d’Adam et Eve (VAE), connu par huit versions différentes (en grec, latin, géorgien, arménien, slave, roumain, copte, arabe).La problématique de notre thèse consiste à analyser la représentation de la femme et l‘invention de la notion du "péché de la chair " ; d’une part, conformément à l’étude des manuscrits de la VGAE et, d’autre part, à partir d’une comparaison de la VGAE avec les restantes versions de la VAE et avec d‘autres sources témoignant d’une perspective similaire.Premièrement, nous nous consacrons à la polémique autour du milieu d’origine et de la datation de la VGAE, avec une exposition de l’état de la question (selon trois thèses : l’origine juive, l’origine chrétienne et la « position prudente »). A l’intérieur de cette discussion, nous incorporons une deuxième polémique, concernant la priorité de la version grecque dans l’ensemble de la VAE.Deuxièmement, nous abordons la représentation de la femme, à partir de la considération conjointe de l’innocence et la culpabilité d’Eve dans la VGAE. En incluant ces représentations dans le contexte des sources du Second Temple, nous assignons une compréhension plus complexe et hétérogène de la VGAE.Troisièmement, nous considérons l‘invention de la notion du "péché de la chair ". Cette notion propre à la VGAE, introduit un type de transgression sexuelle rattachée à Eve. Nous recherchons les sources de ce type de transgression pour élucider ensuite son rapport avec d’autres péchés liés également à Eve dans la VGAE. / The Greek Life of Adam and Eve (VGAE) has been classified among the Apocrypha of the Old Testament and would be a text composed between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, from some traditions belonging to the Hellenistic Judaism. Attested by twenty-seven Greek manuscripts, this book presents the story of Adam and Eve before and after their expulsion from Paradise. These manuscripts are a part of a larger whole, the Life of Adam and Eve (LAE), acknowledged by eight different versions (Greek, Latin, Georgian, Armenian, Slavonic, Romanian, Coptic and Arabic).Our dissertation analyzes the representation of the woman and the invention of the notion of "sin of flesh"; on one hand, according to the study of the manuscripts of the GLAE and, on the other hand, from a comparison of the GLAE with the remaining versions of the LAE and with other sources showing a similar perspective.First, we dedicate to the polemic regarding the origin’s milieu and dating of the GLAE, with an exposition of the actual research (according to three theses: Jewish origin, Christian origin, and the "prudent position"). Within this discussion, we incorporate a second controversy, concerning the priority of the Greek version inside the LAE.Second, we concentrate on the representation of the woman, from the cohesive consideration of the innocence and the guilt of Eve in the GLAE. By including these representations in the context of the sources of the Second Temple, we assign a more complex and heterogeneous understanding to the GLAE.Third, we consider the invention of the notion of "sin of flesh". This concept specific to the GLAE, introduced a type of sexual transgression attached to Eve. We look for the sources of this type of transgression to elucidate then its relation with other sins also associated with Eve in the GLAE.

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Alcohol use among college students is often in the news. Some scholars argue, with literature to support it, that problem drinking in college is just a media-driven myth (Lederman et al. 2004). Yet it is clear that college students do drink, some to excess. Various reasons are cited from alcohol availability to the "freedom" associated with this stage of life. However, very few researchers have attempted to determine whether religiosity affects alcohol use among college students. The purpose of this study was to further examine the combined issues of religiosity and alcohol use among college students. Is excessive use of alcohol during this time of life simply an adult transition issue, as Jackson et al. (2005) contend, or is there more to it? Research seems to point to the fact that religiosity plays a role. The primary hypothesis tested was that students who valued religious activities as part of their college experience would use alcohol less, including binge drinking, than those who did not. The second hypothesis tested was that students who valued parties and Greek life would use alcohol and binge more than students who did not. The data set used was constructed by the Harvard School of Public Health and included data from 120 four-year colleges and universities from throughout the United States. The analysis supported the hypothesis that religiosity was a factor in reduced alcohol use by college students. College students who valued religious activities drank less than those who did not. The study also supported the hypothesis that students who valued parties and Greek life drank more. The heaviest drinkers were those who valued parties. These results are highly significant given the size of the sample. No other study that looked at religiosity and alcohol use among college students used a sample this large. These results help us to better understand the negative association between religiosity and alcohol use among college students as well as the positive association between parties and alcohol use. They especially help us to formulate strategies that might be considered to alleviate problem drinking during this stage of life.